Bears D Lowers the Boom on Romo and the Cowboys in 34-18 Route

No matter where the Bears defenders turned on Monday night, balls thrown by Tony Romo just seemed to be there.

Charles Tillman had a ball thrown right into his hands for an eventual 25-yard score, and Lance Briggs had to go three times farther and sidestep a few Dallas Cowboys on his way to the end zone.

In the end, it was a takeaway fest as the Bears slammed the Cowboys 34-18 in Dallas to wrap up week four of the season and get the Bears to 3-1 on the year.

”Just outstanding play by our defense,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. ”It seemed like everybody had a say in it. How about Lance Briggs? You guys didn’t know he could run that fast.”

The Bears snatched five picks off Cowboys QB Tony Romo, and while the offense was stuck in the mud most of the first half, it didn’t matter after the effort of the defense.

Jay Cutler threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns on 18-of-24 efficiency and Brandon Marshall gained 138 yards receiving with a score on seven catches for Chicago , which defeated the St. Louis Rams last Sunday.

Matt Forte, a game-time decision due to a high ankle sprain suffered during the Rams contest, carried the ball 13 times for 52 yards.

Chicago scored first on Robbie Gould‘s 43-yard field goal with just over 4 minutes left in the first half. Three plays later, Romo threw a ball right at Tillman when intended receiver Dez Bryant kept running down the field instead of cutting toward the sideline.

Holding a 10-7 halftime advantage, the Bears seized control of the contest by recording the game’s next 14 points.

A diving Devin Hester brought in a 34-yard touchdown on a play-action post pattern on the fifth play of Chicago’s opening series of the second half.

Following a Major Wright interception on the Cowboys’ next drive, the Bears committed a blunder of their own.

Linebacker DeMarcus Ware strip-sacked Cutler from behind and fellow linebacker Victor Butler pounced on the loose ball for the recovery at the Chicago 27- yard line.

Just one play later, however, heavy pressure by defensive tackle and hometown Texas alumnus Henry Melton forced Romo to lose the football. It popped up into the air and into the waiting arms of the linebacker Briggs, who rumbled 74 yards the other way down the left sideline for a 24-7 Chicago advantage.

From there, it was the D lowering the boom, and bringing home a huge win in front of a National TV audience for the Bears.